Road Dog: Life and Reflections from the Road as a Stand-up Comic

by Dov Davidoff

Road Dog is comedian, actor, and writer, Dov Davidoff's unflinching memoir told through reflections of twelve months on the road. Davidoff travels across the country from college campuses to local theaters doing stand-up comedy and telling it like it is. He's been known to wax poetic about everything from encounters with large fake breasts, to people who have too many kids, to magnum condoms the size of CD cases. He is hilarious and relatable and will have you laughing at yourself in no time.

But there's more to the road dog life than TV features and sold out comedy shows, there's a dark underbelly and Dov knows it well. His memoir chronicles the highs and often very low lows of performance life with honesty, clarity, and humility. Dov takes readers from his fractured childhood days spent in a New Jersey junkyard with a gruff Jewish father and commune-loving hippie Protestant mother to the intense hyperactive persona that his fans know and expect discussing the relationships, drugs, and demons that he has fought along the way. With an eye for self-reflection, and a penchant for hilarious irony, Dov pulls back the curtain on a life hard-made on the road.

Genres: Humor

256 pages, Hardcover

Published October 31, 2017

Reviews

[Valerity (Val) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised how quickly I read this book. I also enjoyed it more than I expected to. Dov is a stand-up comic and occasional actor who had a pretty crummy childhood from his perspective. It was certainly different from many but made him who he is. He's quite introspective through much of the book, wondering why he's not in a real relationship and lonely. A decent read over all that I decided I liked after I finished it. I was given an ARC by NetGalley and the publisher.

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

Although I read the book fairly quickly it felt that there was something missing in his life.
Very difficult to review and uncomfortable to read in places.

[Bill reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Road Dog is sad. Dov Davidoff’s life of cocaine, alcohol, empty sex and nomad like meanderings is both depressing and funny. Mexican hookers relieved Dov of his virginity at thirteen and prostitutes and strippers (is there a difference?) are the natural extension of his bizarre early experience. I am amazed at Dov’s ability to write so clearly and succinctly given the level of mind altering substances consumed by the author. The man is a modern day Lenny Bruce. His stories are comically entertaining. Dad was a Jewish guy from the Bronx and mom a WASP hippie from California who dragged young Dov to India in a search for the meaning of life. Home life was a junkyard owned by his father with a cast of crazies from the Beverly Hillbillies. It is no wonder that the comedian has a few screws loose. I admire his honesty and attempt to analyze his insanity. After all, we are all crazy to a varying degree. Road Dog is a good read.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think Dov has a lot of talent. He is one of the few comics who I would pay to see again.

So much insightfulness...Tough guys. His dad dying. Self hate. His letter to Jess (wow).
His tattoo: Do not speak unless it improves the silence.

"Tell a joke that comes from something that unites us all, a joke that reminds us we're all in this together."

I didn't even know he had written a book but saw it newly released in my library. Grabbed it right away. Reading this made me hate him, then love him a little bit more.

[Diane Hirt · Rating 1 out of 5]

A difficult read. I found it painful to read his experiences but appreciated his search for something more, his eventual belief that he might be able to have a healthy relationship and his eventual work to achieve it. I was hoping for a somewhat 'happier ending' to his very lonely hard life, a change from his mindless/soul-less and desperate crazy searching for love and connection, and so that made it somewhat worth reading to the end.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly a stream of thought look at this comedians life, loosely focusing on a year on the road. While it was an easy read and occasionally had me chuckling, this is not earthshattering by any stretch and was not really my cup of tea.

I received this book as part of a good reads giveaway but the opinions expressed are solely my own.

[J.C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well written book that could have used a little bit more story telling. Part autobiography, part tales from the road, part philosophical reflection. All of it is funny, but there is not enough depth, everything sort of loses momentum and there aren't a lot of resolutions for the stories he's telling. Worth reading if you like books about dysfunctional family dynamics and comedians.

[Claire Swainson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. For the most part, I found it an interesting look at Dov Davidoff's life outside of what we see in his stand-up. However, as I neared the end of the book, I started to feel that there was some redundancy and didn't find it quite as engaging.

[Danielle Lima · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

I greatly enjoyed this memoir. I found it a quick and interesting read.

[Mark Caddell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway Though it is an easy read. It seemed to be missing something.